, 1960 After
World War II, the company was famous for many years for
Lambretta scooters models such as the
Lambretta 48, LI125, LI150, TV175,
TV200, SX125, SX150,
SX200, GP125, GP150 and GP200. From 1961 to 1976, Innocenti built under licence the
BMC (later the
British Leyland Motor Corporation / BLMC)
Mini, with 848, 998 cc and 1,275 cc engines, followed by other models, including, from 1973, the Regent (
Allegro), with engines up to 1,485 cc. The company of this era is commonly called Leyland Innocenti. The Innocenti Spyder (1961–70) was a re-bodied version of the
Austin-Healey MKII Sprite (styling by
Ghia). The car was produced by
OSI, near Milan. In 1972, BLMC took over control of the company. In 1972, the company's land, buildings and equipment were purchased by
British Leyland in a deal involving approximately £3 million. The British company had high hopes for its newly acquired subsidiary at a time when, they reported to the UK press, Italian Innocenti sales were second only to those of
Fiat and ahead of
Volkswagen and
Renault: Demonstrating their ambitions, the British company installed as managing director one of their youngest UK based senior executives, the 32-year-old former financial controller
Geoffrey Robinson. Management was entirely De Tomaso's responsibility, however, and later in 1976, GEPI and De Tomaso combined their 95% of Innocenti (and all of
Maserati) into one new holding company. However, with the loss of the original Mini, the Austin I5 and the (slow-selling) Regent, sales were in free fall. Production was nearly halved in 1975 and was down to about a fifth of the 1974 levels in 1976. After this crisis, the new
Bertone-bodied Mini began selling more strongly and production climbed to a steady 40,000 per annum by the end of the 1970s. Around the same time, the engine deal with Leyland ended and production soon dropped into the low twenty thousands. Having lost their engine supply as well as their entire export dealer net, Innocenti found themselves without a product and the means of selling it. However,
Daihatsu of Japan were in need of a European partner. In addition to providing drivetrains, Daihatsu gave Innocenti access to their burgeoning sales network, entering France, Belgium and Switzerland at first. Daihatsu gained access to the Italian market, and a means of entry into other European nations with steep barriers for Japanese-made cars. That Innocenti, like Daihatsu, was a small-car specialist only made the marriage even more suitable. And so it was that, from model year 1983 on, the Innocenti was completely re-engineered, now using the
Daihatsu Charade's 993 cc three-cylinder engine and an entirely new suspension. The appearance did not change in the least, in spite of it being, in essence, a new car. In addition to building their own cars, De Tomaso also had Innocenti use their factory capacity in producing bodywork for and providing final assembly of the
Maserati Biturbo, Innocenti kept building their own cars until early 1993. Beginning in 1990, when Fiat took over, Innocenti also sold
Yugo's Koral and Brazilian-sourced versions of the
Fiat Uno (Elba station wagon and Uno Mille) in the Italian market. These rebadged models were the last Innocentis; in February 1996 it was announced that sales of the marque would be halted at the end of June 1997. == 2018 Lambretta Relaunch ==